The present disclosure is generally directed to a kitchen cooking appliance having a jack receiver for receiving a temperature probe for controlling the heating and cooking of food in the cooking appliance.
Kitchen appliances for heating or cooking food therein, such as, for example, toaster ovens, ovens, range ovens, slow cookers, grills, and the like, may include a thermometer for measuring the temperature of food being heated or cooked therein for precise temperature and cooking control. Such a thermometer may be integrally attached to the appliance or selectively engageable with a jack receiver to establish communication with a controller of the kitchen appliance. The thermometer may be removable because the thermometer is not necessary for heating or cooking of some foods, such as, for example, pizza, soups, or toast.
The jack receiver may have a cover to prevent the internal components of the jack receiver from becoming contaminated during cooking, especially when the thermometer is not being used. Some manufacturers have utilized a flip cover that a user manually flips up, generally with his hand, to insert the thermometer into the jack receiver, and thereafter manually flips down in the reverse manner, after the thermometer is withdrawn from the jack receiver, to re-cover the jack receiver.
One drawback of such covers is that the cover may be hot, e.g., after heating or cooking, and therefore, a user may inadvertently burn his hand when flipping the cover down after withdrawing the thermometer from the jack receiver. The user may also accidentally contact other hot surfaces or the foodstuff that is being heated. Moreover, the user has to remember to return the jack cover to the closed position.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide an improved temperature probe jack receiver for a kitchen appliance, having a cover that permits insertion of a thermometer jack without opening the cover by hand and/or that automatically returns to a covering position after a user withdraws the thermometer from the jack receiver, without any additional user intervention.